Once Upon a Child opens doors to shoppers, parents on a budget

Photo providedParents waited in line for hours to shop at Once Upon a Time on its grand opening day.

DEPTFORD TWP. — Scores of parents and grandparents were lined up at the crack of dawn to buy and sell discounted, gently-used baby and kid’s items at Once Upon a Child’s grand opening on Thursday.

According to co-owner Evan Frisch, anxious shoppers started accumulating in front of the new consignment store around 6 a.m. just to enter at 9:30 a.m. — a turnout that far exceeded what he and his wife and co-owner Jen had anticipated.

Two hours later, patrons had moved their massive line into the store.

Whoever wasn’t in the line that wound around the store’s many aisles, was scattered about grabbing strollers, clothes, and toys — all at 70 percent off retail price.

“It was a mad rush,” Frisch said, in between helping parents carry items to their cars.

According to Jen, the store actually opened its doors in June to begin buying items back to grow an inventory before the grand opening.

“We are always buying and selling every single day,” Jen said. “And our customers mean everything to us because they’re basically supplying us with products.”

In the short time they’d been buying baby supplies, the second-hand store built a one-stop shop for most parenting needs.

“There are certain things that are only used for a short period of time. It only makes sense to buy them used,” said West Deptford parent Brianne Hickey, holding six-month-old Alexis. “When I was pregnant, I was talking about going to garage sales, but everything’s in one spot here.”

Of the most popular items at the store, rocker chairs and strollers were in the most demand.

“People had to have patience to wait in those lines,” Frisch said, adding, “but the deals are beyond compare.”

According to franchise spokesperson Emily Hartwig, Winmark Corporation — parent company to popular resale retails chains Plato’s Closet, Once Upon A Child, Play It Again Sports and Music Go Round — plans to open more than four new locations across their family of brands within Gloucester County in the next three to five years.

“(This is) a plan that will contribute substantially to the local economic landscape as well as create a significant increase in job opportunities,” Hartwig said.